Shakespeare brought to life in week of special activities

Workshops, assemblies, themed lessons and trips were just some of the activities undertaken by Years 7-9 to celebrate Shakespeare Week.

Year 7 had a full week making magical Midsummer masks; creating shadow puppets; writing quotations in graffiti; using geography coordinates to paint portraits and learning about Spanish and French equivalent playwrights. They also had a trip to Buckland Abbey.

For Year 8 the highlight was a toss-up between the bubonic plague rat dissections and designing and constructing Jacobean tapestry. They also had a lot of fun playing Tudor games.

Meanwhile Year 9 spent the week writing scripts and filming some fantastic silent scenes from Romeo and Juliet. They were inspired by the Baz Lurhmann film and stage production seen at the start of the week.

English teacher, Felicity Murphy, who organised the week said: "All of these fantastic workshops (and more) created a real buzz around the school. The students were engrossed and have now had the opportunity to see that Shakespeare is very much alive and relevant in our culture today. The week culminated in a moving exhibition of films, presentations, fleas in microscopes and a plethora of creativity. It was a pure joy to celebrate the Bard in such a way." 

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust passionately believes that Shakespeare is not only for all time, but for everyone, and that having a great first experience of Shakespeare should be a child's birthright.

Shakespeare Week has given every school child in Britain the opportunity to be inspired by Shakespeare's stories, language and heritage.